Briony
Briony, Heir of Mead, is the daughter of Corisande and Ignatius, niece of Julianna, Kevan and Charmion, and granddaughter of Arisse. Briony is bored and discontented with her home life. She writes Elodie a number of times throughout the year. When Week 28 comes around, she will become the focus of a various events, one in particular being very significant backstory. She is one of Elodie's romantic options, but a questline must be completed before she's available. She's also the subject of an epilogue, and mentioned in others. Spoiler Warning: ''Plot details follow, read at your own risk'' Involvement [[Week 15|'Week 15']] She will send a letter to Elodie detailing Kevan's private reaction to the outcome of Week 13, depending on how it was handled. [[Week 28|'Week 28']] Briony will be present at Gwenelle's party if the player chooses to go. She will talk to Elodie about a legendary treasure. Pass a Novan History >90 *OR* Lore >60 to know what Briony is talking about. Afterwards there will be multiple choices that will greatly affect how the following weeks play out: * "Offer to help": Briony will come to the palace next week. * "Try to talk her out of it": pass a Conversation >75 check to dissuade Briony, +1 Angry. Failure means Briony will go by herself. * "Tattle to her parents": Briony will be upset, but stays at home. If Elodie doesn't go to the party, or fails the first checks with Briony, or fails to dissuade her from going to the Old Forest, then Briony will go by herself and never return. This will bring consequences. [[Week 29|'Week 29']] If you agreed to help Briony, and there is no civil war, she will be at the palace, having sneaked off from her parents. Pass a Conversation >40 check to unlock "Ask about Briony's parents". Your choices: * "Send her alone": Briony will not return. Her uncle won't be happy. * "Go with Briony": You both go to the Old Forest. * "Tell her not to go": Briony goes anyway, and you won't see her again. Her uncle won't be happy. * "Ask about Briony's parents": Pass an Internal Affairs >90 check to understand her family's background. In any case, Briony will stay put, +1 Angry. This allows for a happier reunion next week. If you choose to go to the Old Forest, you will need several skills to survive. See the week's page for details. During this event you may leave Briony behind or try to save her; succeeding at the latter will unlock a romantic epilogue with Briony and spare you an antagonist during Week 33, doing the former will bring you trouble with her family. Alternatively, if Briony comes to the palace and a civil war breaks out, Elodie may either send her home as a gesture of goodwill or take her hostage. If the latter is chosen you will enter negotiations next week. [[Week 30|'Week 30']] If there is no civil war, Corisande will come to the palace looking for Briony, the outcome is automatic and dependent on previous choices. If you asked about Briony's parents, the latter will confront Corisande and reveal her feelings of abandonment. They will happily reconcile (+1 Cheerful) and Briony will send a coded letter to Elodie during Week 32. This unlocks the best marriage epilogue for Kevan. If you both survived the forest adventure, Corisande and Joslyn will give you a hell of a scolding, +1 Angry and +5 Pressured. This unlocks a romantic epilogue with Briony. If you abandoned Briony at the forest, or sent her alone, or failed to talk her out of it, her mother will be distraught. You can blame her (+3 Cruelty) or yourself (+1 Depressed, +1 Pressured). You may face an antagonist during Week 33. If you never met Briony, or didn't know of her plans, Elodie will say so to Corisande. You may face an antagonist during Week 33. Alternatively, if you took Briony hostage, you may ransom her for: peace (ends the civil war, +1 Angry), money (ends the civil war, +2,000 lassi, +1 Willful), or exile for the rebels (+1 Willful, test Cruelty >10 *OR* Cruelty*10 + Presence >150, ends the war if successful). [[Week 31|'Week 31']] If Briony and Corisande were happily reunited, receive a letter from the former. The contents vary depending on two things: if Ignatius is Duke of Ursul, Elodie learns that he's divorcing Corisande; if Ciphering >30, Elodie discovers a terrible family secret. [[Week 39|'Week 39']] If you both went to and survived the Old Forest, Briony will be available as a romantic outcome by choosing "Marry no one" if Elodie isn't engaged. [[Epilogue|'Epilogue']]s As mentioned above, Briony will be romanceable by surviving the forest adventure and choosing "Marry no one". Also, if Julianna is your magic mentor and Lumen Approval improves, Briony will be adopted as Julianna's successor, unlocking a special epilogue picture. Personality Briony is kind of childish, especially for her age. She's stubborn, imaginative, naive and somewhat bratty, but also very lonely and with a sense of unworthiness due to her parent's neglect. She's fascinated by heroic fantasies of adventures, treasure, monster-slaying and romance. Not even her brush with death in the Old Forest (if saved) will stop her for planning another "heroic" adventure. In her romantic epilogue, it's described how she and Elodie bonded over, among other things, the imaginary slaying of dragons. At first it seems that her ideas for adventure are simple attention-seeking. While it is one of the reasons, it's mostly to escape her boring and neglectful home life and to become honored in the eyes of her parents. She does have a surprising talent for coding and investigation (given her knowledge of Ciphering, the location of the Old Forest and the supposed treasure that lies within), which may indicate patience and dedication to learning (or at least, for subjects that interest her). She has terrible manners for a noble (though not to the extent of her cousin Thaddeus). She's very blunt when talking to Elodie or her own parents, and probably to her peers as well. Also, in the epilogue where Elodie marries her father Ignatius, she's described as audibly gagging in their presence. Abilities Briony is skilled in Ciphering, allowing her to code secret messages in her correspondence. She can reveal more than a few secrets to Elodie this way. During the treasure-hunting adventure Briony claims to be good with a sword and bow. Since she never gets a chance to demonstrate, it may be just her overestimating her skills. If she lives in a pro-Lumen epilogue, she's adopted by Julianna and assigned as her heir. A still of a Lumen Briony is seen but none of her future skills are described. Before this, she is a normal human with no magical abilities. Romance Conditions Elodie can end up romantically involved with Briony, though no marriage can take place (she's given the position of lady-in-waiting as an excuse to be close to Elodie, and both marry unnamed nobles for pure convenience). For this to happen: * Elodie must go to Gwenelle's party. Pass either a Novan History ≥ 90 or Lore ≥ 60 when talking to Briony for her to let Elodie into her treasure-hunting plans, choose "Offer to help". * The next week, start the forest adventure. To survive, pass these checks in order: Herbs ≥ 70, Running ≥ 50, Horses ≥ 70 (if failed, pass Dance ≥ 30). You both escape alive. Briony will regard her rescue as the most romantic thing that has ever happened to her. During Week 39, she will be amongst the options of suitors. Trivia * Like Elodie, she wears her hair styled as Ojou Ringlets. Though it's appropriate to her social standing, it also defies the archetype associated with the style, as she is childish, stubborn and not very princess-like. * Her name name originates in Old English, which in turns takes from the Greek name βρυωνία ‎(pronounced "bruōnía"). It's the name of a genus of medicinal plants noted for their resilience. Interestingly, her family have names of either Old English, Irish or Greek origin, she continues the trend having both the former and the latter. * She has her mother's eye color, while her hair is a combination of her mother's and father's colors (blonde and blue).. * The epilogue picture of her as a Lumen shows her wearing clothes very similar to Sailor Venus. Category:Characters Category:Marriage Candidates Category:Lumen